Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls for an early general election in October after MPs vote for plan to delay Brexit.

Johnson hopes to win a majority in order to overturn a bid by opposition parties to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

The prime minister suffered a major defeat on Tuesday evening after MPs approved a plan which could see them pass a law designed to force him to seek a three month extension to Britain's Brexit deadline.

"I don't want an election but if MPs vote tomorrow to stop the negotiations and to compel another pointless delay of Brexit, potentially for years, then that will be the only way to resolve this," the prime minister told MPs.

Responding to Johnson, Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would only vote for a general election once the legislation to delay Brexit was secured.

"He wants to table a motion for a general election - fine. Get the bill through first, in order to take no deal off the table," the Labour leader said.

Johnson on Tuesday lost his government's working majority after Conservative MP Philip Lee crossed the floor to join the opposition Liberal Democrat party.

He now hopes to win a majority which will enable him to overturn any new law brought in by parliament which is designed to delay Brexit.

However, the opposition Labour party suggested they would vote against any motion for an early election until the legislation compelling a delay to Brexit was secured.

"There won't be a general election called tomorrow because we're not going to vote for it because we have got to make sure that this legislation is embedded, signed off by the Queen, and there is no argument about it any more," the Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry told ITV.

She added: "We want a general election but we want this legislation done first."

Current opinion polls consistently put Johnson's Conservative party in the lead ahead of Labour.

However, polling expert John Curtice said the parties' current standing only gave Johnson a 50/50 chance of securing a majority.

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